Chapter 21: Hwa Jeokun (2)

“Jeokun, huh.”

The identity of the opponent who revealed himself was quite astonishing.

An elder of the Azure Star Sect.

Given the fully matured skills that had reached the pinnacle, this elder surely ranked among the strongest of his peers.

‘They call this place Hidden Trace Manor—such an annoyingly fitting name.’

Hidden Trace Manor—and here indeed was someone named Jeokun, literally ‘hidden cloud.’

Cheon Yura quietly sighed.

“So, the Azure Star Sect was behind all of this?”

“Huhu, I won’t bother answering that.”

Though he didn’t confirm it directly, Jeokun had effectively laid all his cards on the table.

But I knew there was another side hidden within the truth.

I gave a twisted smile as I stared at Jeokun.

“You sure laid your pieces out well, considering the possibility of us surviving.”

“What did you say?”

“If the Young Cult Leader and I make it out of here alive, we’ll have no choice but to point our swords at Azure Star Sect. This is practically a full-on righteous-vs-demonic war.”

Cheon Yura frowned.

“What are you talking about, Jin Yeomyung?”

“That guy might be pretending to be an upright man from an orthodox sect, bravely revealing his identity and seeking a life-or-death duel, but that’s nothing more than a disguise.”

“A disguise? His swordsmanship is of the orthodox style. What exactly is he faking?”

“Obviously, he’s faking being part of the Azure Star Sect Sect.”

Jeokun scowled, as if he couldn’t bear to listen anymore.

“Are you trying to insult me? I am an elder proudly listed in the Azure Star Sect Elders’ Registry.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Of course. I’m sure you have ties to Azure Star Sect.”

But just because someone has a foothold in Azure Star Sect doesn’t mean their core allegiance lies there.

“But what if you—yes, you—are deceiving even Azure Star Sect?”

“……?!”

To be honest, I wasn’t completely certain when I said that.

But even if I was wrong, if I could just gauge his reaction, it would still be worth it.

A group whose true identity not even Cult Leader Cheon Yura fully grasped, only knew by name.

“Are you the ones who seek to defy the heavens—Heaven-Defying Society?”

“……!!!”

Jeokun’s eyes widened to the point of tearing apart.

And at the very same moment, his sword, Azure Cloud Crimson Sunset Sword, came flying at my neck.

‘Shit!’

The killing intent surging from Jeokun’s sword clearly showed that this was no attack meant to subdue.

It was unmistakably a killing strike aimed to sever life!

Swish, swish, swish!

Immediately, traps all around sprang into action as countless hidden weapons rained down on Jeokun.

But Jeokun ignored every single attack and charged straight at me.

He brushed aside the minor threats with defensive Qi and evaded the fatal ones by avoiding vital points, doing whatever he could to drive his sword into my heart.

‘I figured he’d react somehow, but I didn’t expect this much!’

The formation, notorious enough to be called a Killing Array, was still insufficient to stop a peak Master-Level expert.

Just before Jeokun’s sword pierced my heart, Cheon Yura grabbed the back of my collar and hurled me backward.

“Guh!”

And then, she took the full brunt of Jeokun’s strike.

BOOOOM!

With a thunderous crash that rattled my eardrums, Cheon Yura was flung backward toward where I was.

Barely steadying her staggering form, she spoke.

“That was close.”

“Are you alright?”

“Hmph, this is nothing.”

Nothing, she said, but blood was trickling from the corner of her lips.

Clear evidence of internal injuries.

‘This… might actually be dangerous.’

I hadn’t unleashed the full force of the Maze-Killing Array, but if I poured everything out in a sealed space like this, we wouldn’t make it out unscathed either.

Sharpening my senses, I drew my sword.

I obviously couldn’t match him in a one-on-one, but I could at least support Cheon Yura.

“By the way, what did you say just now that made him change like that?”

I replied casually.

“Hm, who knows? Survival seems to be the priority right now, doesn’t it?”

“……Hmph, true. Survival comes first.”

Cheon Yura seemed to have more she wanted to ask, but she let my feeble dodge slide.

“Can you match my rhythm?”

“I’ll manage somehow.”

“Good.”

The Ten Heavenly Record Demonic Sword I had learned shared some resonance with Cheon Yura’s Heaven-Slaying Demonic Sword.

Not a perfect match, but I could at least keep pace behind her.

“Stay sharp. He doesn’t seem interested in playing games anymore.”

Jeokun was no longer sneering or taunting us.

With his Azure Cloud Crimson Sunset Sword raised once more in its Qi-infused stance, he honed his momentum like a single blade.

“He’s coming!”

Jeokun’s sword, infused with decades of martial experience, descended upon us.

Power, speed, and adaptability—his Azure Cloud Crimson Sunset Sword overwhelmed us in all aspects.

But when it came to strength and adaptability, our combined effort could balance the scale.

“Right!”

Even before Cheon Yura finished speaking, I leapt out to intercept the strike that was protruding from the right.

My sword, wrapped in dark sword qi, met the curved blue trajectory of his blade and deflected some of its force.

I didn’t need to block it head-on. I couldn’t anyway.

Just moving appropriately at the right moment drastically reduced the pressure on Cheon Yura.

“You bastard!”

Even as Jeokun glared at me, he didn’t lower his guard against Cheon Yura.

It was clear that I was his top kill priority, but he knew that he couldn’t get to me without going through her.

“Huuuup! Haaah!”

Even blocking a fraction of his assault sent a numb ache through my hand.

But it was alright. I wasn’t the only one supporting this fight.

Papapapat!

Just as Jeokun shook me off and lunged his sword at Cheon Yura, sharp fragments of metal flew at him from all directions.

“Tch, how annoying!”

Earlier, he had ignored everything to deliver a single decisive blow, but because of that, Jeokun had ended up with several minor injuries.

“Damn that Eun Cheoljung bastard! How could he have managed things so sloppily?!”

Jeokun muttered a low curse as he quickly pulled back.

At that bitter complaint, I inwardly scoffed.

He wasn’t exactly the right person to be saying that, considering he was the one who had killed Eun Cheoljung.

Jeokun kept pressing us with attacks.

But with Sa Biyeon and me providing proper support, and especially with her rapidly adapting to Jeokun’s swordplay, the situation gradually began to settle.

“Huff, huff…”

Cheon Yura, now breathing evenly again, glanced at me sideways and smirked.

“Not bad at all, Jin Yeomyung. I didn’t think we’d be able to sync this well.”

I, already feeling the strain of my limits, answered weakly.

“That’s a relief. Everything’s going as planned.”

Despite the long battle, Jeokun hadn’t been able to break through us.

If it had been a one-on-one, I wouldn’t have lasted ten seconds. Even Cheon Yura likely wouldn’t have survived a hundred seconds.

But this particular environment had kept us alive up until now.

“The sword style you use… it somehow feels similar to the Heaven-Slaying Demonic Sword. I’ll have to check it out if the exchange sessions open up again.”

“Are exchange sessions some kind of martial arts tournament to you?”

I shook my head in disbelief.

“And besides, it’s not over yet. Focus, please.”

Just as I said, Jeokun was still standing solidly in front of us.

However, his expression was distinctly different from before.

“You crazy monstrous bitch…”

I unintentionally agreed with Jeokun’s insult.

Despite taking the brunt of his assault, Cheon Yura had avoided any fatal injuries and only allowed minor damage to her clothing.

Even that damage had lessened noticeably over time.

“I can see it now. His sword.”

Cheon Yura’s talent had caught the flow of Azure Star Sect’s secret sword technique.

Once you could read the flow, no matter how fast the technique was, you could respond somehow.

Jeokun, realizing this, let out a subtle sigh.

“Seems I’ll have to put my life on the line if I want to kill you two.”

If speed and technique didn’t work, only one option remained.

Crack!

A radiant light, completely different from before, began gathering on Jeokun’s sword.

Our expressions hardened.

‘Sword Aura!’

Cheon Yura had once unleashed strong Qi against me before.

But back then, due to her lack of control, the energy had scattered in tendrils and branches—an incomplete sword aura.

What Jeokun was showing now was a perfect, linear sword aura with no wasted energy.

Its power and precision were on a completely different level.

“I tried to avoid using major techniques because of the trap formation, but there’s no helping it. I’ll have to overexert myself and kill you both.”

Cheon Yura spoke with a tense expression.

“This is truly dangerous, Jin Yeomyung.”

“Indeed it is.”

Support or not, this one was coming straight at us with raw power.

There was no way around it.

If we even tried to redirect it, our bodies would be sliced in two.

Knowing this, Cheon Yura stepped forward and said,

“Run.”

“…?!”

“There’s nothing you can do anymore. Better to retreat. We’ve stalled long enough—surely the Law Enforcement Hall should’ve arrived by now. What a shame.”

It was true.

From the moment Cheon Yura charged in recklessly until now, we had bought at least an entire two-hour period.

Under normal circumstances, the Law Enforcement Hall thugs who received the message should’ve stormed in long ago.

“I’m giving up on capturing him. I’ll stall him a bit more and run. You should go ahead.”

“That’s not happening.”

“What?”

“You didn’t intend to run in the first place, did you?”

I knew Cheon Yura too well.

With her immense pride, she’d never abandon her duty.

She wasn’t the kind of person who could retreat when the enemy was right in front of her.

“Don’t go throwing your life away for nothing. If we live, we live together.”

“……”

Cheon Yura looked at me like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Did she never expect I’d say something like this?

After a moment of stunned silence, she seemed to steel herself and turned her gaze to Jeokun.

“We’re using Harmonizing Energy. Sync up with me, no matter what.”

“Understood.”

Harmonizing Energy was a technique where two people who could wield sword qi fused their energies into one and released it—a type of joint qi attack.

Strictly speaking, Harmonizing Energy wasn’t actually a formation.

Formations, by definition, had to create a “plane” or “surface” to qualify as such. But Harmonizing Energy only fused energies into a single “line,” making it a simple convergence rather than a formal formation.

Because of its simplicity, it was ideal when a direct clash of force was needed.

But that same simplicity also meant it posed tremendous danger if the energies were incompatible.

As Cheon Yura extended her sword forward, I also raised mine in sync.

At the sight of us, Jeokun couldn’t suppress a mocking sneer.

“Harmonizing Energy? What are you two, husband and wife?”

Twitch!

For a moment, I nearly let out a dry laugh.

It was common belief that only twins trained in the same internal energy, or couples who had practiced together for years, could properly execute *Harmonizing Energy*.

“Jin Yeomyung, don’t fall for his provocation.”

“Of course.”

Although… was that even meant to be provocation?

“Die!”

“Haaaah!”

As Jeokun’s azure sword aura surged forth, our black Harmonizing Energy burst out to meet it.

KWA-KWAAANG!

The two attacks of sword aura-level power collided, and the shockwave triggered the surrounding Maze-Killing Array mechanisms to begin exploding outward.

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